A pair of Northern Iowa wrestlers were selected for the NWCA All-Star Classic in New Jersey on Sunday in Max Thomsen and Drew Foster, at 149 and 184 pounds, respectively. They were the first Panthers selected since 2004.

Foster fell to NC State’s Pete Renda, 4-2. A product of Mediapolis, Foster secured a first-period takedown off a re-shot, but Renda followed with an escape and a takedown in the second period and added a stalling point for the final score.

Thomsen followed with a 4-3 win over Princeton’s Matt Kolodzik. The match was tied 2-2 going into the third after a pair of Thomsen escapes and a Kolodzik takedown. Kolodzik scored an escape to take a 3-2 lead, but Thomsen finished a late takedown on a scramble for the win.

Megan Black, an Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont product, competed in the women’s division of the All-Star Classic. Black, who now wrestles at McKendree University, beat Shelby Hall of Campbellsville University, 6-0.

Iowa wrestlers fare well at Dave Schultz

The Dave Schultz Memorial Invitational is one of the tougher freestyle tournaments in the world, and plenty of competitors with Iowa ties wrestled in it in Colorado Springs, Colorado, over the weekend.

Joe Colon, a former UNI Panther, won gold at 61 kilograms. Colon outscored his opponents 42-18 en route to gold. At the same weight, former Hawkeye wrestler Tony Ramos took fourth, losing to Colon in the semifinals by a score of 14-3.

Jon Reader, a former Iowa State wrestler, placed first at 79 kilos. The next weight up, 86 kilos, Pat Downey placed third. The former Cyclone NCAA All-American pledged to wrestle for Iowa this season, but only once he finishes his Iowa State degree.

Nathan Burak took third at 97 kilos. The former Hawkeye All-American lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Min Won Seo of Korea. At the same weight, former Panther Blaize Cabell took second after pinning 2014 world champion Abdulsalem Gadisov of Russia.

In the women’s freestyle division, Lauren Louive of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club took first at 59 kilos. Louive won all three of her matches by a combined 26-8 en route to gold. At 76 kilos, Rachel Watters, a Ballard graduate, placed fourth.

Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.